Hunter x Hunter: From Obtaining the World to Beyond Heaven

The four-person group led by Kim continued forward.

After passing through the tomb chamber, the overall space did not shrink, but rather became more spacious.

"Many legends in Gu Ganyu emphasize that an open environment will cause the soul of the dead to get lost. I suspect that this is a legend created by the extremely strong musical atmosphere of Gu Ganyu—too large a space will cause sound distortion and even echo."

Jin looked at the increasingly large space and said.

Ancient Ganyu is a renowned artistic nation, especially in the field of music, where over 9% of the world's greatest musicians have historically come from.

Even every ancient Ganyu person would teach themselves a musical instrument and occasionally play it together after meals.

"No, that's not true. The legend is true. Think about it, if you die and your body is placed in an overly spacious and empty area, what's the difference between that and just dumping your body in the wilderness? Your soul definitely won't be able to find your body!"

Spectrum retorted with feigned seriousness.

Dijestra gave Dia a helpless, apologetic look—she wasn't very bright.

"Alright, let's stop this discussion for now. For the next area, we need to wear earmuffs or find a way to block out our hearing."

Jin interrupted the spread of superstition, stopped, and instructed Dia:

"There are seven echo walls in front of you. When someone passes by, they will emit musical instrument sounds. For some reason, these sounds overlap and create a mind-altering effect. Don't listen to them!"

Chapter 324 Obtaining Medicine × The Truth (Two-in-One)

The Echo Wall is a unique stone structure created by mysterious ancient craftsmen.

Holes of varying shapes have been carved into the special stone walls, which produce different pitches when the wind blows through them, and can even be used to simulate the sounds of various musical instruments.

This technique was once used to record ancient musical scores and is one of the most rare and difficult ancient skills to learn.

It was not until the development of various recording technologies such as wire recording in modern times that it gradually disappeared into the long river of history.

The seven echo walls that Jin mentioned are a characteristic feature of the ruins within the ancient Ganyu Kingdom, and they can be found in almost every one of them.

Each echo wall corresponds to an ancient musical instrument, such as a flute, harp, drum, etc., and when combined, they can produce beautiful music.

But what's puzzling is...

Echo walls in tombs typically only record the music that the tomb's occupant liked most during their lifetime.

How could anyone put a bunch of music in there that would affect their mind?

There is clearly no answer to this question. The time period is too long, and the excavation of the tomb is far from being sufficient to draw a definitive conclusion.

"Here, this is for you."

Jin casually tossed a small object over.

Dia caught them quickly and saw that they were two earplugs.

The others readily agreed, taking out the earplugs and earmuffs they had prepared beforehand, and then walked forward without saying a word.

Diya silently put on the earplugs, and used the ripples to control her muscles to seal her ear canals.

He had no desire to test what the so-called "mind-affecting" meant.

If he were to experience any dangerous hallucinations, he might accidentally kill everyone present in a fit of rage.

Aside from Jin possibly having special means of survival, no one else could possibly take a punch from him after he stops time without being prepared.

If I accept a commission and end up killing all my teammates, I'm really in trouble...

Time passed slowly, and the group finally arrived at a small space that resembled Stonehenge.

Seven massive rock walls surround a circular open space, resembling both a ritual and a special sacrificial ceremony.

Without saying a word, Spectrum and Dijkstra left the line and headed towards one of the rock walls.

Jin turned his head, extended a finger towards Dia, and his Nen flowed naturally from his fingertip, condensing into a sentence in the air—

Let's go first; the rest of the way is none of their business.

He then waved and beckoned Dia to walk toward the southwest corner of the room.

There was an inconspicuous, extinguished candlestick there.

Jin stepped forward and spun the candlestick three times. The wall next to him suddenly shook, revealing a small stone door.

Without hesitation, he crawled inside, with Dia following closely behind.

Behind the door is a winding, long path that can be seen with the naked eye, and the surrounding walls are covered with various kinds of moss and small insects.

After walking a long distance, Jin suddenly reached out and tried to take off his earplugs. Then, after shaking his head, he mouthed to Dia, "Take them off!"

'Is it far enough already...?'

It seems we're quite far from that sound barrier now, so there's no need to worry about being affected by the sound anymore. Therefore, I suggest removing the earplugs.

As soon as Dia took off her earplugs, she heard Jin say:

"There's still a long way to go, let me tell you about it."

As he spoke, Jin strode ahead:

"This place is called the 'Snake Path,' which the ancients believed was a path leading from the afterlife to the human world. The souls of the dead could return to the present world through the 'Snake Path' and be resurrected. Generally, only imperial tombs had the space and need to build such a thing."

"But later people gradually came to believe that the soul was just nonsense, and the tombs built along the 'Snake Path' ceased to exist. What about you? Do you believe that the soul truly exists?"

Dia nodded silently:

"The soul is real."

Moreover, time travelers are also real.

Jin glanced at him with a hint of surprise:

"I didn't expect you to be so certain. A few years ago, when I talked to your teacher about the soul, she gave me a good scolding. It seems you are much smarter than her."

"Do you remember what that Echo Wall looked like? There were some things I couldn't say earlier, but now that it's just the two of us, I can tell you. How about it, are you willing to listen?"

Diya's interest was piqued, and she said:

"Sure, I'm actually a little curious about that."

He was also interested in music that was supposed to be able to disturb the mind.

It's important to know that the "Third Celestial Phenomenon" can manipulate airflow, and sound is essentially air vibration.

If I could learn this skill, wouldn't it be possible to create that kind of eerie music out of thin air?

Jin nodded, expressing his approval of his attitude towards learning, and then began to explain:

Have you ever heard of "Dark Sonata"?

Dia paused, staring in astonishment at Jin's retreating figure.

He had certainly heard that in comics, a single musical movement could transform an ordinary person, a young lady, into an ugly dwarf resembling a rat from the Zero World.

It is a legendary piece of music composed by the Demon King, which has now been completely lost.

Could the music from that echo chamber just now have been the "Dark Sonata"?

"It seems you've heard of it, so I won't bother explaining the background. But there's no need to be so nervous; the piece of music you just heard wasn't the Dark Sonata."

Jin continued:

"The first time I encountered those echo walls, I listened to the music for about 5 seconds, and then I started to hallucinate. Sensing something was wrong, I blocked my hearing, and the hallucinations disappeared automatically."

"But based on those five seconds alone, I can assert that this movement is not the Dark Sonata, but it is definitely composed in imitation of its melodic structure."

"Why would such a thing appear in the ancient royal tombs of the ancient Ganyu Kingdom? Why do all the recorded urban legends about the Dark Sonata come from places outside the ancient Ganyu Kingdom? Why are the kings of the ancient Ganyu Kingdom often brilliant but short-lived? I have investigated these questions for a long time before I have some vague answers."

The snake path seemed endless.

The flashlights in their hands shone faintly in the darkness, like the eyes of a giant snake, emitting specks of white light.

Jin's voice stopped abruptly, and after a long pause, he said:

"I believe that the legendary 'Dark Sonata' that those music hunters have been searching for must be in the ancient Ganyu Kingdom, or even composed by the ancient Ganyu people."

As soon as Jin finished speaking, a faint light suddenly appeared ahead.

As the two drew closer, the light became more and more obvious, eventually revealing a bright little room.

The small room was very clean, with no unnecessary decorations, only a few low, curved steps leading to a bluestone wall.

A lifelike snake was carved on the wall. The snake had two heads, one of which was roaring towards the sky, its eyes filled with endless resentment.

The other snake's head drooped down, its mouth opened and bit a strange square box, its eyes seeming to hold a deep, ancient mystery.

"The light refracted by those strange little structures outside should all be focused here. Look at this two-headed serpent carving, it's a masterpiece. The prototype should be a serpent god from ancient mythology."

Jin said casually, then pointed to the square box that the snake's head was holding in its mouth:

"That box is what we need."

After saying that, he turned around confidently, covered his ears with his hands, closed his eyes, and shouted:

"You said you wouldn't reveal your abilities casually, right? Now I'm not looking anymore, go and take it down."

As Diya watched Jin's retreating figure, he deliberately shut down all his senses.

This was an extremely dangerous situation, almost tantamount to putting himself under the executioner's blade, yet he did not hesitate to show such a posture in front of Dia.

This is a form of trust, and also a form of self-confidence.

Dia stepped over the stairs, examined the box carefully, and summoned the [World].

A golden stand-in appeared in mid-air, and with a thought, the whole world fell into an eternal stillness.

During the time stop, everything except what he touches will remain in its original physical state.

If the contact is brief, they will fall back into stillness very shortly after the contact ends.

Dia didn't understand the exact principle behind it, but he simply pulled the box out and put the box that Jin had given him earlier inside.

He then deactivated the time stop, took several steps back, and looked warily at the wall in front of him.

If the gold box cannot be perfectly replaced, then it may be necessary to flee quickly to prevent the tomb from collapsing.

hiss……

A faint hissing sound, like that of a venomous snake, could be heard coming from all directions, sending chills down one's spine.